Paddling GlovesTom Watson reviews some general optionsfor protecting hands while out paddling:Simple neoprene, poggies, scuba gloves, etcQuick Tips for Canoe Camping TripsKevin Callan passes along some simple tricks he as learned over the years aboutcamping and paddling.. with videos too!

Reviews for Voyager Kayak by Old Town Canoe

I picked up a Voyager 6 years ago when I was looking for a do-it-all boat. I use it for lakes, big rivers, little rivers, whitewater up to Class III, swamps, fishing, camping, research, birding, and pretty much everything.

Load Capacity and Cockpit:
Through grad school, where I studied fish in river systems, I carried a lot of heavy expensive gear in swamps, ponds, big rivers (Lower Arkansas River), and small creeks. The large open cockpit is great for managing equipment, notebooks, lunch, etc without having to get out and shuffle things. From the seat, you can reach all the way forward and aft to the bulkheads.

For fishing, the same thing goes. There's plenty of space to put things and still access them. I can have several open tackle boxes plus lunch, water, and a camera easily accessible between my knees.

I've taken a couple several-day floats in my Voyager. It can hold more gear than you would actually want to load it down with. It has near the gear capacity of a small canoe, but doesn't have the maneuverability or stability to paddle with 100 lbs of gear. That said, it keeps its stability for extended float trips quite well, and could still handle Class II rapids when I packed it right.

The seat is pretty comfortable for an extended sit. I don't have much padding on my tailbone, so an additional thin pad or inflatable cushion goes a long way. With the footpegs in the most comfortable position, my knees are against the ridges of the gunwale and cockpit edges. This gets a bit sore after a long day, especially in conditions where I brace a lot. A foam pool noodle split open and tucked along the cockpit edge helps, and there's room inside to place hip and knee braces.

General Handling:
In open water, it does tend to weathercock a bit. You won't want to paddle across a big lake without some kind of rudder. Without wind, though, it tracks very straight in most conditions. The moderate keel and moderate rocker together will cause you to turn a couple degrees per stroke during straight line paddling. When turning, I can typically turn about 90 - 100 degrees for each strong sweep stroke with a good lean. For comparison, a sea kayak would take several strokes to do 90 while a creek or play boat would turn 180 - 270 with a single stroke. In flat current (i.e., moderate - fast with no whitewater), its handling peaks. There's nothing more enjoyable than paddling this thing down a smooth, swift river.

Whitewater Handling:
I've had this in relatively tight Class III without swamping. I've done 3' to 4' drops easily, but you have to lean way back. It eddies out surprisingly easily. If you're prepared for the eddyline and get the bow in quickly enough, you can do a full 180 degree eddy out in a pretty small space. Peelouts are a lot harder, so I generally orient myself downstream before getting back into the action. While it doesn't spin, roll, hydraulic, or do any play moves, it surfs like a champ. Because it doesn't 180 easily, I like to run a wave, eddy out, and then paddle back upstream into it. Once you get the bow into a foam pile, it does most of the work for you and pulls you right into position and surfs itself. This boat punches straight through haystacks and standing waves rather than riding up and over them. You will get wet. When this boat gets sideways in a rapid, you will probably swim. Be smart, use airbags, and find one of the few spray skirts that fits. IT'S NOT A WHITEWATER BOAT.

All in all, it's a great boat that has done everything I've asked and surprised me with what it's capable of. Take care of the hull, as it will oil can if you leave it sitting upright on the ground or rack it upright. It's not inherently weak, but it is keeled just deeply enough to bend.

I looked at a quite few new and used boats in the 9 to 12 foot range. There are many used 9'-6" boats from various manufacturers, but most of them donít have a lot of features or seem like toys. From the reviews Iíve read, most 9'-6" boats donít track all that well either. I wanted something that would fit in the back of my pickup and not hang out to far past my camper door. I set my limit at 12'.

The Voyager really fit the bill. No too big and not too small. Easy to lift and move around. It tracks pretty darn good too! Lotís of legroom and space for storage. Awesome HUGE cockpit opening. Comfy adjustable seat. Well made and should last for a long time. The Voyager seems to be a boat that a kayaker can grow into. Stable and forgiving for a newbie and advanced enough for an experienced boater. I plan on keeping mine for a long time and eventually modifying it for fishing. Way to go, Old Town.

This boat appears to be a loon without hatches. It has a nicer seat than a loon. According to the Old town website the hull material is the same as the loon. The boat is comfortable and paddles well however the hull material is very easy to dent. It is very tricky to transport and store without damaging the hull. I purchased for $299 so I am not too concerned about this weakness. Overall I like it.

I've used the Old Town Otters but they really aren't big enough for me (5'10 276#) so I stopped borrowing my brother-in-law's Otters and bought a Voyager last spring (2007).

It's a factory 2nd and the flaw is where they cut the edges of the cockpit but the molding almost covers up the flaw. The Voyager handles my weight very well, and takes a little getting used too for me as the Voyager "feels" very tippy compared to the Otters - but you can tip and recover easily. Where on the Otters they don't tip very easily, but when they do they don't recover usually. On one outing I paddled across Great Moose Pond in Maine from our camp to a relativeís camp. Per http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/ it was 2.5 miles round trip. There was white caps that broke over the kayak going there and coming back with the wind and against the wind. Looking back, for my skill level, I should not have been out on the water in that weather - but it was my first weekend with the kayaks (I bought a Twin-Otter too) and I didn't want to stay off the water.

The kayak handled very well in the waves and wind. Once I got used to the feel of the kayak and the way it handles the feeling of it being tippy went away as I learned to trust the kayak. I'm rating it as an eight out of ten because it took a little getting used to before I felt comfortable in it but I will admit that the uncomfortable feeling is because I am used to wider, flat bottom canoes and kayaks than this model. Other than that, it is a very good kayak and handles a large person like myself very well.

I recently purchased two Old Town Voyager kayaks for the family. These are our first kayaks and they are fantastic. We have used them on Lake Ontario, the St. Lawerence Seaway, ponds and canals. The stability is amazing as we have encountered 1.5 - 2 foot waves and had no problem. The straight line tracking is also excellent. The slightly oversized cockpit makes for easy entry/exit and they are easy to fish from. The built in handles are very comfortable and are welcome for the longer portages.

I previously owned an Old Town Pathfinder canoe and find the kayak much easier to keep on course. Being of single layer polyethylene construction they are relatively light at 45 lbs. making them easy to load and port. However, SLP is the least stiff of the kayak and canoe materials and will deform if stored or transported incorrectly. Ours have been mis-shapen but have come back into shape over time.

Also of note is that we had to return one of our kayaks due to the top front of the boat being thin and unable to hold its shape, especially when it got hot in the sun - apparently a manufacturing issue. The other kayak was fine. We exchanged the kayak the next day without any problem.

These kayaks have been a blast and I highly recommend the Voyager. We wanted entry level kayaks and for the money ($379 ea.) we couldn't be happier.

After taking this for a few trips on different rivers, I find that I would rather take my canoe. Bear in mind that this is my first kayak, though I have been canoeing for years. I found on my last trip that this boat does not track well through the water, I am constantly fighting to keep it in a straight line. This does take some fun out of a trip in addition to making extra work, my right side got much more of a workout due to the boat wanting to turn in that direction. I will have to look for a way to modify this boat to keep it in straight line. The nice thing is this boat is inexpensive and lightweight. It has a very large cockpit, making it difficult to locate a sprayskirt for this model, but a small child will fit in front of you quite nicely. It feels fairly stable in the water and turns moderately well. All in all for the price one can't complain too much. It would be a good pick for someone new to kayaking. As it will give a good reference point for the next kayak purchase.

This is the boat I bought after a lot of research. It is the same hull design of the Loon 11'1" just a different hull material I have used it about ten times and it does wonderful. I have had it out in lakes with a cross breeze and rivers up to a class three and never felt like I was in a situation that that my boat could not handle. It has good storage space and tracks like it is on rails, glides very good and has a very comfortable seat. BUT if you are going to be in the boat for a long time invest in some extra padding (I have found this to be true of all Kayaks) I have an 8 year old daughter, me and her fit in it just fine. And at a price of 425.00 I can't find a thing I would change about this boat.

120,000+ people can't be wrong!The Paddling.net Newsletter is a must if you like to canoe or kayak! Each week it is packed with great articles, photos, product reviews, and special features. Better yet, we promise not to sell your email address to anyone; that's right ZERO spam! Sign up today and find out what you've been missing!